A mentor first, a chess organizer second
CPR grew from Georgia Morris's search for a practical way to mentor children. Morris was not an experienced chess player, so the organization was built around a division of labor: she set the mentoring purpose and recruited knowledgeable volunteers to teach the game.
That unusual origin shaped an all-volunteer program in which chess carries lessons about life skills, character, and core values. The name Critical Thinkers, Problem Solvers, Readers states those educational ambitions more plainly than a conventional team name.
A room staffed by many kinds of expertise
A 2020 profile found volunteer instruction divided between beginner and advanced groups. Among the coaches was nine-time Arkansas state champion Tony Davis, while other volunteers brought professional experience from education, architecture, and law.
The teaching staff itself became part of the lesson. Children encountered a state champion alongside volunteers whose working lives included education, architecture, and law, all contributing time through the same community program.
A path into competition
CPR's community identity mattered because Little Rock School District tournaments had been organized around school clubs. After Morris pressed for access, CPR entered in 2017 as a community-based team, giving children outside that school-club structure a route into the events.
Its competition pathway combines scholastic unrated sections with US Chess-rated play. In January 2026, a CPR and LR Knights tournament in Little Rock offered both scholastic and USCF-rated sections.
Continuity through disruption
When pandemic restrictions interrupted normal meetings, CPR continued with virtual lessons, camps, and tournaments. Advanced students also helped teach less experienced players, extending the mentoring model into peer instruction.
By 2020, CPR had extended the program to a Pine Bluff branch. A January 2026 in-person tournament in Little Rock, organized with LR Knights, showed that its competition pathway remained active after the virtual period.
Sources
- 1.Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers Readers Chess Club, Critical Thinkers • Problem Solvers • Readers CHESS ASSOCIATION
- 2.Our Mission, Critical Thinkers • Problem Solvers • Readers CHESS ASSOCIATION
- 3.Founder, Critical Thinkers • Problem Solvers • Readers CHESS ASSOCIATION
- 4.Classes & Events, Critical Thinkers • Problem Solvers • Readers CHESS ASSOCIATION
- 5.Game Changer: Volunteer Creates Chess Club That Gives Kids All the Right Moves, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- 6.CPR & LR Knights Jan 17th, 2026 Little Rock, AR Chess Tournament @ Mosaic, US Chess Federation
This profile summarizes publicly accessible sources. Organizations, links and locations can change. MindZug does not guarantee current availability.